May 2007

Beside the Seaside - Lighthouses

These stamps are from the Lighthouses set from March 1998. They feature four of Britain's most dramatically located lighthouses:

The Smalls lighthouse (26p stamp) stands on a small rock approximately 20 miles west of St David's Head in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The current tower was erected in the mid-nineteenth century, but an earlier lighthouse was built in 1776 on the same rock. The distinctive red and white stripes were removed in 1997 as it was felt they no longer aided navigation.

The present Needles lighthouse (37p stamp) was planned in 1859. This replaced a version constructed in 1785 to guard the dangerous western approaches to the Isle of Wight. The Needles are a narrow chalk formation which rise to cliffs 120 metres high. The Needles lighthouse was automated in 1994.

Bell Rock lighthouse (43p stamp) is regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World. Bell Rock is also known as Inchcape Rock, set 12 miles off the east coast of Scotland.  Until engineer Robert Stevenson built the tower between 1807 and 1810, this submerged reef was a grave danger to shipping. Building the tower was a phenomenal acheivement. The rock sits some 16 feet below water level at high tide, and is only visible for a few hours each day.

In designing Bell Rock, Robert Stevenson borrowed many design ideas from John Smeaton's world-famous Eddystone lighthouse (63p stamp). This was the third lighthouse on Eddystone Rock off the English south coast, following two wooden structures. Smeaton decided to construct a tower based on the shape of an English Oak tree for strength, but for the first time it would be made of stone.

Smeaton's design stood between 1759 and 1882, when the aging tower was partially dismantled and replaced by the design which stands today. The present building was the first rock lighthouse converted to automatic operation in 1982.

Beside the Seaside - Picture postcards

These stamps are from the Centenary of Picture Postcards issue from April 1994.

Postcards were introduced in Britain in 1870, and were extremely popular as a cheap form of mail. In 1894, the Post Office finally gave permission for the manufacture and distribution of picture postcards.

It was in the early 1930s that the cartoon-style saucy postcards became popular. In an age were sex was still a largely taboo subject, the cheeky - or offensive, according to some -  images and innuendo-filled text became a staple of seaside stalls.

Crackdowns on various forms of 'obscene publication' saw the postcards take a big knock in the 1950s. In the 1960s attitudes relaxed again and thee postcard inductry revived. However, falling standards in artwork and a change in British holidaying habits have shrunk the industry once again.

We want you to contact us with your suggestions for future Stamps of the Month. But remember, your ideas must be based on a forthcoming stamp issue from Royal Mail.